Department of Commerce

Every agency that provides assistance to tax payers should have an online guide that gives pertinent information about services. This information should be easy to understand and follow. Besides the written material on line, the agency should produce a short video that really explains the services in terms anyone could understand. This would most helpful for agencies like FEMA and SBA after a disaster.

Voting

If an agency performs their work via computers telework models should be implemented to save money on costly office space and reduce the number of people using fuel. The concept of utilizing telework was introduced by the President, Agencies should explain why this directive is not being implemented.

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The Patent Office has been described as using the cooling capacity of 2,000 homes (1). The Patent Office uses enormous amounts of electricity to power the air conditioners, computers, lights, etc; and the patent office has the potential to save enormous amounts of money by adding solar cells to the vast roofs of the buildings.

Based upon the limited available information of the Patent Offices electricity billing, a...
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Instead of hiring temporary employees to train enumerators for the Decennial Census, have permanent Census employees train the enumerators. Decide on how many training staff are needed, then offer additional voluntary work to for current permanent Census employees in return for a cash award or comp time. This would allow for a set of training standards to be put in place across the Census as well as save the government...
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After spending many years in sales and marketing I worked my way from ground level entry to top level management. I feel that every person in the higher eichelons of management should (at minimum) be required to stay updated on any program, either new, renewed, or revisited in their department. I understand that many have climbed the proviable ladder of success. However, they should be required as part of their supervisory...
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I solely believe that re-training the federal employees at the U.S. Dept of Commerce, United States Patent and Trademark Office, will save the employees and the USPTO a minimum of $3.869 million dollars per fiscal year. Not re-training, as in patent related tasks and regulator practices, but rather RE-TRAINING how patent examiners WALK. Let me repeat, examiners will benefit from re-learning how to walk properly due...
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Web conferencing software could be utilized to limit the amount of government travel and the high cost that goes along with it. For example, there are 122 weather forecast offices around the country, and each spring every office makes a number of road trips to train weather spotters. Our office alone does between 2 and 3 dozen trips each year. The cost of time, gas and vehicle wear is easily in the thousands of dollars...
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In an effort to save tax payer dollars and in the spirit of collaboration between Science Centers and Regional Offices, I would like to explore the idea of possibly using NOAA's small boats for the field work we do at regional offices instead of contracting this work out to private companies. Our field activities typically involve...

* response and restoration activities at large ship grounding sites * site visits...
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I work at the Census Bureau and the cost to mail out the many censuses and surveys is through the roof. The overall process for all of our censuses and surveys is an operation that costs taxpayers BILLIONS of dollars. The motivation to improve this process is certainly there. I say that you make this process as internet -friendly as possible. It can be similar to how the IRS allows people to file their taxes electronically....
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I work at the Census Bureau and the costs to mail out the census forms is extremely high. On top of that, the initial response is less than ideal. I say you offer an easy app that will allow people to fill out their information in minutes rather than having them fill out their answers on paper after mailing them out several letters/forms. The response will be better, the process will be easier, and you will be able...
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Since 2004 NOAA has tried very hard to make coordinate the logistics of the Hydrographic Services Review Panel. Yet each year the panel seems only interested in getting paid as GS-15s to travel to different places in the US on the tax payers dime (to have fun and not work). They don't seem interested in advising the government do a better job. Since they do not help us understand the needs of the nation we are going...
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That Congress and the civilian Federal Government departments and agencies take a new hard line on leaders and managers that lead and manage major large acquisition programs such that there are Billion dollar overruns and multi year delays.

This has been a problem with NOAA and its NPOESS satellites, NASA with the Webb telescope,...
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Voting

A Web-based application and a mobile application can be developed to map the availability or occupancy of parking spots in parking lots and parking garages. The parking map will be browser-based and updated instantly. The result of parking status in a garage or a parking lot can be obtained using mobile phones.Employees and contractors who are coming to work will use their mobile phones to navigate to open parking spots...
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Voting

The Government needs to manage competencies and stop sending employees to unnecessary training. Employees should have their competencies assessed before being sent to training. Only those competencies that they lack should be developed. This will reduce the cost of training, travel, per diem, staffing or training offices, and use of time release from work to attend training. It will also increase our performance!